Things to Do in Discovery Park

West Point Lighthouse at sunset

The 1881 striped lighthouse perches on a skinny spit where sound meets ship canal. Arrive an hour before sunset. The Olympic Range blushes pink while cargo ships slide past like ghosts. Harbor seals pop glossy heads through the ripples. The breeze carries diesel and kelp, the perfume Seattle kids call 'smell of the sea.'

Loop Trail through the meadows

The 2.8-mile Loop Trail slices across wind-combed grasslands where coyotes trot at dawn. Bald eagles scan for rabbits from weather-beaten snags. In June the fields ignite with invasive ragwort. Cottonwood fluff drifts like warm snow, oddly sweet against the diesel tang from the nearby Army Reserve base.

Daybreak Star Cultural Center

A cedar longhouse anchors the park's south end, packed with Coast Salish art that smells of smoked salmon and fresh cedar shavings. Drumming rolls on Saturdays when the United Indians rehearsal circle meets. The gift shop stocks hand-tanned elk-hide drums that thud satisfyingly under your knuckles.

South Beach driftwood architecture

Kids (and grown-up kids) stack bleached logs into forts above the high-tide line, building a temporary city that reeks of salt and rotting kelp. Hollow clunks echo as new timbers slam into place. Bare feet slap across barnacle-crusted poles when the sun lures Seattleites into frigid water.

Magnolia Bluff eagle watch

From the bluff above North Beach you can glass nesting bald eagles while tugboats honk below and the skyline glitters like shattered glass. The air feels ten degrees cooler, laced with pine pitch and the occasional puff of pot from fellow birders.

Magnolia Village for coffee-shop mornings and easy bus links

Queen Anne Hill - hilltop perch with budget motels and skyline buses

Downtown waterfront if you want ferries and Pike Place strolls

Ballard for brewery nights plus quick drives to the park

Fremont for quirky statues and Sunday markets

Upper Queen Anne for mansion views and indie cinema